1.
SME Workshop
EXUS
ICT Proposers’ day 2016
27.09.2016, Bratislava
Dimitris Vassiliadis
Director of Innovation, EXUS

2.
EXUS Software Ltd. (www.exus.co.uk)
• 27 years old
• 140+ staff with offices in London and Athens
• We work with Software and Analytics serving:
• Finance
• Security
• Healthcare
• Codeless platforms
• Rich experience in co-funded R&I programs
• Currently participating in 18 ongoing projects (10 coordinated)
• Projects focused around core expertise and commercial strategy
• 2 new products in development through subsidized activity
• https://uk.linkedin.com/in/dvassiliadis

3.
Obstacles and Challenges - 1
Walk the “Innovation talk”
• Statement: “our ideas/teams/companies are innovative”
• EXUS has been in the market for 27 years
• Are we still innovative?
• Do we add new value?
• Do we unlock hidden sources of value?
• Are we able to rally people/resources around our ideas?
• Are we convincing enough for anyone to risk their money on us?

4.
Obstacles and Challenges - 2
Finding our sweet-spot
• In the sea of R&I activities in FP7/H2020 where do we fit in?
• How can we make this work for us?
• How can we work for it?
• Is this sustainable?
• How do you manage risk?

5.
Lessons learnt - 1
Create a virtual product roadmap (This is not “just” tech!)
- Or to make it simple, set a 3-year plan for your company.
- Understand how R&I funding can help you achieve this.
- Create a virtual roadmap with hard milestones per 6 months.
- Define a strategic portfolio of R&I activities to support the
roadmap.
- Take the first step on your own:
a. Find a topic
b. Define the idea
c. Coordinate the effort
d. Start early (usually 6 months in advance)
e. Personal advice: choose smaller/focused activities

6.
Lessons learnt
Lessons learnt - 2
Build expertise and make people aware of it
- Understand your strengths and use them.
- Find the vertical(s) in which you can make the difference and focus.
- Learn to say no to activities that don’t align with your core strategy.
- Attend events (local, regional, national, international) and showcase.
- Create a dedicated web-space to demonstrate your USPs.
- Use the “network effect” fromTwitter/Linkedin/Slideshare.
- Build Authority with monthly blogposts.

7.
Lessons learnt - 3
Create and nurture a handful of strategic partnerships
- As an SME we need partners for:
a. Research
b. Marketing
c. Business development
d. Scale-up support
- Handpick companies/academia with compatible understanding
and complementary aspiration.
- Overall improved performance (consortium/SME)

8.
Where you can find me
• EXUS Software Ltd. (www.exus.co.uk)
• EXUS Innovation (www.exusinnovation.co.uk)
• Email: dvas@exus.co.uk
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dvassiliadis
• https://uk.linkedin.com/in/dvassiliadis